Busy Summer Highlights-Part 1: Youth Conference

It has been a busy summer.  Like every summer.  I don't remember the last summer that I didn't go to youth conference and scout camp.  Plus a couple of family reunions in the mix. 

This summer was too busy to properly get all of the details into the weekly family letter. So I figured I'd better do what I can, and just blog the high points.  First stop: Riverton 15th Ward Youth Conference.

We departed from church early Wednesday evening.  Was it blood sugar?  The heat?  Anyway, enthusiasm was at a low ebb.

That quickly changed as we got involved in a road rally/scavenger hunt to find instructions on how to get to the ranch just outside of Pinedale, Wyoming.  Our path took us through Kemmerer, where we posed in front of the James Cash Penney mother store.

No thanks to some aggressive driving, we made it to the ranch. It was raining, but because we were not camping on the ground, enthusiasm soared.  Our theme for the conference was, "Oh ye that embark, the places you'll go."  

I know, Doctor Seuss and the D&C are not the most intuitive of combinations, but think of it as a unique taste combination like artichoke hearts and jalapeno, or avocado and raspberry/mango salsa, or fruit loops and champagne (an ice cream flavor we found in Philly). 

Sometimes enthusiasm fluttered more than soared.

Sleeping arrangements were great.  The 12 boys had a bunkhouse built for about 8, but they squished in and made it work.  The 12 girls had a bunkhouse built for about 12 boys, but they squished in and made it work.  The 5 YM leaders each had a bedroom in the main house. They made it work, too.  But the 4 YW leaders had a palace built for about 40, complete with hot and cold running servants and at least two hot tubs and a spa apiece.  They worked it!

Terisa has a theory that when the food is good, the youth conference is a success. We had the best, with the Schoutens on full time KP detail.

 

 Don't these look like happy campers? 

Still a little drizzly the first day, but we had our 2nd counselors' activity.  In most presidencies, the 2nd counselor never gets to do much, so we assigned all of them together the first activity, which turned out to be kickball in a pasture.

A good time was had by all.

Yes, this is an ATV.  No we didn't ride them.  That was left for the 8-year-old twins of our host family.

Have I said what great food we had?

It was truly great.

After lunch everyone wrote a letter to their future selves. We collected them and will mail them out next year at this time.  What would you tell yourself a year from now?

In the middle of the trip we got a nice microburst that left a half an inch of hail, and took one of our EZ-ups in return.  It flew over to the pasture where a couple of startled horses protested.

One afternoon we went to the local creek. It was cold.  But even the most finicky got in and had fun.  Backflips off the edge, a little swimming, and a lot of skipping rocks.

Everyone was quite adventurous.

And happy about it.

Who knew?

By this time, friendships were starting to cement.

 One of the downtime activities was cards.  About a half dozen new games kept everyone entertained.

 

Another downtime activity.  No, this is not during a prayer...

One night we hung a white sheet in a barn and projected Ice Age for a movie night.  We had popcorn and lots of fun.

The next day, we had an Amazing Race, based on standards in For the Strength of Youth.  We had to adapt it to the weather, which was still inclement.  Here we see a young bride-to-be in a gown fashioned by Charmin. Yes, the TP people.

Here is additional fashion, albeit modified by a walk in the drizzle.

Kazoos used to make hymns were popular at first.  Then they got out of hand. Eventually we had to confiscate them. And bury them, like the swords in the Book of Mormon.

Another afternoon we went to the rec center in Pinedale, where we swam in warmer and cleaner waters.  I'm pretty sure we didn't find a single leech here.

They had a swinging rope over the pool, so everyone tried to do backflips. Tried.

And tried.

The food remained excellent.

Here is Porter Meier, from the host family, holding--nay, cleaving--to the iron rod.

There was a little sleeping.  Very little, actually.

But on the day of our return, Porter had made fast friends with Driscoll, and even Miss Riverton, Lindsey, couldn't coax him away.

 And that turned out to be the theme of A lot friendships, a lot of togetherness, a lot of fun.

A Tale of Two...Family Reunions

It was the best of times, it was the best of times. 

The first reunion was back in May, when Great Grace turned 85.  The family turned out in droves. Of family members. Droves of family. Technically an Al and Grace Gabrielsen family reunion. 

And lunch was served to us, and someone else did the dishes.

This picture of the gathering is an enigma.  Who is photo-bombing whom?

Lots of familytogetherness in this room.  Uncle Al did the MC duties. I'm pretty sure it was profound, but I couldn't hear much.  Something else I inherited from the Gabrielsen side, and will soon have to deal with.  I could have used one of those ear trumpet things...

 The smiles were not artificial.  These people liked getting together with these people. Lanae and her crowd came from Boise.  Ben and Julia live in Ogden.

 Dan and Lonna's came up from Provo.

Not all of the younger generation appreciated family gatherings.  His mood changed when the fries arrived.

Christie and Martin drove from Seattle. Bearing vats of homemade Kimchi.  Amongst the hottest I  have tried. It must be stored in glass, since anything else will melt.

But one picture is enough! There will be no second warnings.

Alicia, Robert and Emily came from Texas.

Emily dressed for a fancy party.  Emily always dresses for a fancy party.

Rebecca and Ryan and Andrew are in South Jordan. Britt was here, too. Also, Nan and Nick, but I don't have pictures of them.

A few new friendships sprang up.  Also, this is evidently the only picture I got of Carol, in the orange shirt and sling. She and John came in from Pittsburgh.

And this was the only shot of  Sara and Matias, both looking away.  Up from southern Cali.

More organizing duties for Uncle Al. In this case, he was organizing a group shot by a real photographer.  When we get proofs, I'll send them out.

The seond family reunion was held yesterday by the Lyman C. Gabrielsen family.

The venue was David Gabrielsen's home in Draper Heights.  Nice house and yard for 100 people to eat, swim and visit. There was a lot of all three.

David had the families introduce, and then had Nedra, Gary and Grace give their family-monies.

One of David's sons-in-law brought his backwards bike (geared so that when you turn left you go right, and vice versa.) Evidently, he takes it to the state fair and charges people a dollar for a chance to ride it ten feet and earn $100.  No one can.  Here is James gamely trying.

My cousin Todd, up from New Harmony, UT. He told a funny story about his wife going into a gas station and having a long discussion with someone she thought was me.  He tells lots of funny stories.

Karleen, Grace and Gary catch up.  They wisely stayed in the deep shade of the 100-degree day.

David and Loriann hosted.  David looks a lot like his father, sometimes.

Eric Bedke's oldest son, Ryan and his baby.

Scott's wife, Sarah and one of her half dozen grandkids.

My cousin, Kay, who is trying to get things ready so she and Ken can go on a mission. Up from Hurricane.

Timeless as ever, Patty had a big smile for everyone.  She and Hal have returned from their third mission.

From the left, Aunt Nedra, my cousin Leslie, and my twin brother, Al.  Gary photobombs on the left.

Karleen catches up with Eric and Marci who never change and who hugged everyone.

Leslie's daughter and her son's fiance, who gamely braved the reunion without her affianced, who was home filling out med school applications.

Hal showing off a relaxation form obviously unaffected by three missions, and Scott Bedke.  Of all my cousins, he looks the most like Grandpa Gabrielsen must have looked when he was young. He is Speaker of the House in Idaho.

John and Cindy, from Caldwell, with a couple of their grandkids.

The next generation down from me. Scott, on the right, is a doctor in Boston. The ladies to his right are his wife and sister-in-law.

A group of David's kids, in-laws, grandkids. The thumbs-up guy is the bike owner.  Both he and his wife can ride the thing. It's a brain-training thing.

Todd, his oldest, Reed, and Gary rest their legs at the end of the afternoon.

In general, members of the family didn't really need name tags.  There were a lot of blonde, blue-eyed kids, and most of the family resemblances are pretty strong. This little guy, for example,  didn't need a name tag: when you saw him smile--which he did a lot in this airplane teeter-totter--you could tell he was a Bedke. 

All in all, it was a fun afternoon.  There were no drunken brawls, no shots fired.  Hey, it happens in some families. I didn't even hear much in the way of crying kids.  The food was good (potluck, mostly), and the company was better.  We liked it so much that the cousins--my generation--are hatching a plan to do a Norway fjords cruise in a couple of years.

Terisa said more than once, "you have a nice family."  Isn't it the truth?